1. Technical Field
Compounds of the general formula shown in (I), having the ability to inhibit flavodoxin for the treatment of infectious diseases, including specifically those caused by Helicobacter, are described herein.

2. Background
Infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of today's most common chronic diseases; in fact this bacterium is found to colonize the gastric mucosa of more than 50% of the human population.
H. pylori is a gram-negative bacillus that causes chronic gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers and is a risk factor in the development of MALT lymphoma and adenocarcinoma (one of the most frequent and lethal types of cancer).
The conventional treatment used to eradicate Helicobacter pylori infection consists of two broad spectrum antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor. Therefore, there is no specific treatment for this condition, nor is the current treatment particularly effective as the proportion of successfully treated patients does not exceed 80%. In addition, the high mutational variability is causing a decline in conventional treatment efficiency due to a growing increase in resistance to conventional antibiotics.